HD Loader
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HD Loader is a program for the
The HD Loader software does not require an original Sony hard drive to function properly, however some drives may be impossible to attach without modifying connectors. Games may also refuse to detect the drive if it is unofficial.
Reaction
Sony's public stance on HD Loader is that it is not supported and is illegal (it can enable
Compatibility
HD Loader is not 100% compatible with all PS2 games. Some incompatibilities exist because game software depends on certain peculiarities of the PS2 drive hardware. Additional incompatibilities arise from the use of
In response to the limitations of HD Loader, a number of independent programmers have developed patches which extend the functionality of HD Loader to improve game compatibility or different software entirely (e.g., OpenPS2Loader). These include a fix to improve dual-layer support, one to implement a non-aligned data buffer (which allows
These unofficial patches have been accumulated into the HD Loader release known as 0.8b, The unofficial HD Loader is currently at version 0.8c as of April 2007. Version 0.8c continues support for 48-bit (up to 2 Terabyte hard drives), patches for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and God of War II, 3 more modes and support for installing and running dual layer games directly off the hard drive.
Some games need to be patched in order to be played with HD Loader. Another may require using tricks, such as starting the game with an older, digital controller and then switching to DualShock 2, or refuse to install. According to PS2HD.COM, the compatibility rate of patched HD Loader is around 88.2%.
Original PlayStation games are not compatible with this method.
Version history
Official HD Loader is extracted and released to the internet as a retaliation to the free library files used in its creation.
0.6d - the first unofficial version that improved game compatibility.
0.7c - fix for Suikoden V, patches for 48bit HDDs (up to 2 Terabytes),
0.7e - patches that fixed Shadow of the Colossus and Super Monkey Ball were added. This version enabled playing many previously incompatible games. Updated compatibility menu and changed modes description.
0.8 - A patch that fixed
0.8b - fixes a bug with HDL0.8 not installing to HDDs over 128 GB and a few other minor errors. Updated compatibility menu.
0.8b+ - A patch that fixed God of War II was added. This version is known under different names because author did not rename the version. Additionally, this patch breaks support for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
0.8c - A fix for the buffer alignment was added into the GUI Patcher app and made both GOW2 and GTA:LCS run without crashing. This is the current version. The unofficial releases can be run on a console with a modchip installed, or by using an exploit such as Free McBoot [1] Archived 2016-10-29 at the
HD Advance
HD Advance is a cloned version of the HD Loader software for the
The only benefit of HD Advance is that it is distributed on a pressed disk, giving a patched version of HD Loader that can run on a console without a modchip installed, and also without the need of the
However, players who were using HD Advance 2.0 retail pressed discs (CD or DVD) to format a Maxtor hard disk with 80 GB capacity and subsequently use the disc to play PS2 games from the HDD were reported experiencing a strange problem. HD Loader versions up to 0.7c boot up perfectly via the Independence Exploit but subsequent versions of HD Loader from 0.8 onwards freezes on the splash screen and refuses to start up if formatted with a HD Advance disc. This is possibly due to newer patches that are not in any HD Advance discs;a solution is to reformat the hard disk with HD Loader version 0.8 or higher, which is recommended for newer PS2 games. However, this is not confirmed to work 100% across the board[citation needed] as certain PS2 models (mainly PAL 7xxx consoles) was reported to still freeze at splash screen; a currently-unfixable problem related to HD Loader version 0.8 or higher on PAL single-port network adapter models was the main problem[citation needed].
Open PS2 Loader
Open PS2 Loader, abbreviated as OPL, is an open-source program that allows playing of commercial games and homebrew installed from external storage devices.
References
External links
- HD Advance Manufacturers site
- HD Loader Game Compatibility List
- Game Compatibility List for the PS2 HDD Shows compatibility for the various versions of HD loader, USB Extreme and ToxicOS
- PS2 Hard Drive Compatibility Chart
- Store With HD Loader still available